We’re getting closer and closer to
Christmas, and this Sunday, traditionally called Rose Sunday or Gaudete Sunday,
points in that direction energetically. We can tell from the reading from
Zephaniah, the wonderful canticle from Isaiah, and the reading from
Philippians. These readings are all about rejoicing, because change is coming.
God’s people are going to be saved. In each case, the Scripture is directed to
desperate people who have been in a difficult situation. And there’s all this
hope, all this rejoicing, because they think that things are about to change.
Gaudete! Gaudete!
Good theology, that, right? Because
we know the story of this Advent season. God is about to take on human form to
save us. Fabulous! Exciting! The turning of the wheel of human existence to a
better situation. ..
…and then we get to this Gospel. What
a downer! John the Baptist, in full-on scary prophet mode, stinky and sweaty
and reeking of the locusts he’s been eating – no wonder he’s cranky – yelling
at those who showed up for baptism “You brood of vipers!” In Matthew’s Gospel,
he’s directing his wrath at Pharisees and Sadducees who are indulging in a
little intel-gathering about this strange guy who baptizes people, but in
Luke’s version, John yells at everybody.
“You brood of vipers! Who warned you
to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin
to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is
able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is
lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good
fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."
Didn’t anyone ever tell this guy that
you get more bees with honey than with vinegar? Well, maybe he’s not feeling
the whole metaphor, since honey and insects have been the majority of his diet
lately. Maybe it’s the urgency: get your act together, people. Something
world-shattering is about to happen and you need to clean up your act.
This can’t be sugar-coated. It’s a
straight-up shot of vinegar: repent! Do it now!
So much for the happy-clappy Gaudete
Sunday stuff. Luke’s John the Baptist is all about preparing people…because you
don’t get the sweet happy-clappy joy without being ready to receive it as more
than just presents under the tree. It’s about the opportunity to welcome the
greatest of gifts, God with us, Emmanuel. And we cannot understand that gift
without repenting of the many ways we have acted that would suggest that we are
unworthy of the gift.
It’s the whole “coal in the stocking”
thing without the elfin charm.
And unlike in Matthew’s Gospel, the
people in Luke’s story, even the tax collectors and the soldiers, respond
not once but three times with a key question: “What should we do?”
Notice that they don’t deny they’ve
done some bad things. No one is saying they are being falsely accused. No one
is saying “we don’t belong on the naughty list.” They simply say “what should
we do?”
John’s equally simple in his
response. He gives very direct guidance: share what you’ve got, because there
are people who have less than you. Don’t rip people off if you’re in a position
of power over them. Be satisfied with what you have and don’t take from others.
It’s not complicated theology. It doesn’t require a divinity degree to figure
it out. Do the right thing. Prepare yourselves for the One who is coming by
living into generous and honorable relationships with one another.
They hear that. They like what they
hear. You can imagine them thinking, “well, I think I can do that!” and then
they start to wonder if John is the Messiah, the anointed one, who is coming.
And once again, he gives a very clear and unambiguous response,” Nope, not me.
There’s someone else coming who is infinitely greater than I. He’s gathering in
those who are living rightly, and the ones who aren’t? It’s not going to be so
good for them.”
And then Luke wraps up the story with
the sentence “so, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to
the people.”
Well, it strikes me as a little odd,
that language of good news. To my 21st century ears, it sounds like
he’s mostly scaring people into preparing themselves. But perhaps not to the
listeners of Luke’s time. John’s words forbid them to rely on the fact that
they are part of God’s chosen people – they can’t rely on their tradition for
special dispensation. They have to work on being faithful and righteous; they
cannot take their status for granted.
And that then takes me to a place of
wondering about the times that I take MY status as a Christian for granted.
Yes, I know that as a follower of Jesus Christ I am forgiven my sins, that I am
saved, that by my baptism I was drawn into Jesus’ bosom as his child forever.
And yet…and yet…
How many times do I fail to work at
living faithfully? How many times do I avoid the eyes of the person begging on
the street corner? How many times do I manipulate a situation to get what I
want? How many times do I say “I’m fine. It’s those other people who are
unfaithful,” all because I don’t want to have to engage them across our
differences?
It isn’t just the Pharisees and
Sadducees in this story – Luke’s John the Baptist points to the whole crowd. It
isn’t just the people who believe differently than we do, or who do not believe
at all, who are in the wrong. We manage to do it every single day…or at least I
do, when I’m feeling a little Grinch-y, when I’m jealous of someone else’s
success, when I worry about what I want at the expense of someone who needs it
more.
But Jesus is coming. I – we ALL – are
about to get the best of all possible gifts: God in human form. Are we in a
place to be ready for him? The good news is coming, but if we aren’t ready to
hear the challenge that that good news brings, we are not going to hear the joy
of that good news.
So, my fellow vipers, you and I, we
have work to do. Joy will come, but we have to be ready. It’s time for us to be
kind and generous. It’s time for us to be happy with what we have. It’s time for us to be good fruit, not unripe
persimmons, so sour on the tongue. It’s time for us to be nourishing wheat, not
inedible chaff. As God transforms Godself into human vesture, even a viper can
become a vibrant and loving and righteous bearer of sweet and nurturing fruit.
We brood of vipers, we can be a
garden of delight, but it takes some work, some repentance. It’s time to get
ready. We’ve only got a little while to go.
Amen.
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